Today Osram Sylvania, a North American lighting manufacturer, announced that it will be commercially producing an LED light bulb designed to replace a 60-watt incandescent bulb. Millions of 60-watt incandescent bulbs are currently sold each year, but according to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, these light bulbs must be phased out by 2014. Sylvania hopes that its LED light bulb, the Ultra A-Line, will fill this gap. The company plans to sell its LED light bulb through Lowe's, a major home improvement store chain.

Like a 60-watt incandescent bulb, the Ultra A-Line LED light bulb gives off 810 lumens, but instead of using 60 watts to produce this energy, the Ultra A-Line bulb only uses 12 watts. The light's color temperature is 2,700 Kelvin, which makes it a yellow color similar to incandescent bulbs, but the light lasts much longer than incandescent bulbs, with a rated life of 25,000 hours. Sylvania's LED bulb will be retailing for $39.98 and will be available through the Lowe's website later this month, as well as in Lowe's stores by the second quarter of 2011.

Sylvania is not the only company trying to fill the void left as incandescent lights are phased out. Phillips is now selling a similar LED bulb for one penny less than Sylvania's bulb. Philips' bulb, called the Ambient LED, also uses 12 watts but gives off slightly less light than Sylvania's. The light is available through Home Depot. Both companies are expanding their production as they expect the demand for LED light to continue to increase as incandescent bulbs leave the market

buildaroo.com